Broncos Tie Super Bowl Record with 7 Sacks vs. Panthers

The NFL's best defense in the regular season lived up to its reputation in the Super Bowl as the Denver Broncos tied an NFL record with seven sacks in their 24-10 win over the Carolina Panthers, per Nicki Jhabvala of the Denver Post. Linebacker Von Miller led the way with 2.5.

The 1975 Pittsburgh Steelers and 1985 Chicago Bears were the only other teams to record as many sacks as the Broncos did Sunday. Miller and the defense made an impact early, sacking Panthers quarterback Cam Newton and forcing a fumble that the team recovered in the end zone for a touchdown that helped it seize a 10-0 first-quarter lead.

The NFL shared the replay:

Miller may have had the most sacks, but he was not alone in terrorizing Newton. DeMarcus Ware had a great game with two sacks, while Chris Harris Jr. and Darian Stewart had one each, followed by Derek Wolfe with 0.5.

Quarterback Peyton Manning earned his second Super Bowl victory and will one day be enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, but there is no doubt he'll be thanking his defense for this one, per Daniel Jeremiah of NFL Network:

Fans often say defenses win championships, which turned out to be the case as Denver held the regular-season MVP to just 265 yards and no touchdowns Sunday.